Malaysia loses contact with plane carrying 239

ASSOCIATED PRESS

March 8, 2014 12:01 AM

ASSOCIATED PRESS

March 8, 2014 12:01 AM

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Malaysia Airlines said Saturday it lost contact with a plane carrying 239 people on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and search and rescue teams were trying to locate the aircraft.

Flight MH370 lost contact with the Subang air traffic control near Kuala Lumpur at 2:40 a.m. today.

The flight was operated on the Boeing 777-200 aircraft. It departed Kuala Lumpur at 12:41 a.m. today and was expected to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m.

The plane was carrying 227 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew members, the airline said.

The airline said it was working with authorities who activated their search and rescue team to locate the aircraft. The route would take the aircraft from Malaysia across to Vietnam and China.

"Our team is currently calling the next-of-kin of passengers and crew. Focus of the airline is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilize its full support," Malaysia Airlines chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members."